Derek Connolly is a Consultant Interventional Cardiologist with over 20 years of experience in providing exceptional care to patients with cardiovascular conditions at the Priory Hospital, Birmingham, UK. Prof Connolly is an Honorary Clinical Associate Professor at Aston Medical School and an Honorary Senior Clinical Lecturer at the Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Birmingham, where he has mentored and trained over 100 consultant cardiologists. He was also appointed as the Clinical Lead in Cardiac Care at the NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB).

In the role of Chief or Primary Investigator, Prof Connolly has participated in numerous large-scale cardiovascular clinical trials and has made major contributions to the field by co-authoring over 80 articles that were published in reputable medical journals. He was instrumental in the establishment of one of the first primary angioplasty programs in the UK and one of the nation’s largest cardiac computed tomography programs. He also serves as the Director of Research and Development at both Birmingham City Hospital and Sandwell & West Birmingham Hospitals, NHS Trust.

Prof Connolly obtained his medical education from the University of Edinburgh and subsequently received his PhD in molecular cardiology from the Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge. He completed his undergraduate studies in Pharmacology with a first-class degree from the University of Edinburgh, where he was awarded a Brunton medal and Keasbey Bursary for academic excellence.

Renato D. Lopes is a cardiologist and Professor of Medicine of the Department of Medicine of the Division of Cardiology at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, US. He currently serves as the Director of Clinical Events Classification (CEC) and Co-Director of the Integrated Clinical Events-Safety Surveillance Group at the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI). After completing his clinical training at the Federal University of Sao Paulo in Brazil, Prof Lopes pursued his Cardiology Fellowship at DCRI, where he also served as Chief Fellow for the research training program during his senior year.

Prof Lopes’ research interests lie in novel antithrombotic therapies for the management of patients with atrial fibrillation and acute coronary syndromes, as well as in the discovery of new biomarkers in the field of cardiology. His extensive experience in cardiology has led to him playing a pivotal role in numerous national and international clinical trials and registries. He has also contributed significantly to clinical events committees (CEC) for several landmark clinical trials. Prof Lopes has authored and co-authored over 730 peer-reviewed articles, 30 book sections as well as 8 books, and has participated in the development of several international clinical practice guidelines.

George K. Andrikopoulos is a cardiologist and serves as Director of the First Cardiac Department and Electrophysiology and Pacing Department at the Henry Dunant Hospital in Athens, Greece. He is President of both the WG of Electrophysiology & Pacing of the Hellenic Society of Cardiology and the Hellenic Institute of Arhythmias. He is also scientific advisor to the Hellenic Heart Foundation and past president of the Institute for the Study of Thrombosis and Antithrombotic Treatment (ISETAT).

Dr Andrikopoulos has published articles in some of the most prestigious medical journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, JAMA, Annals of Internal Medicine, Circulation, European Heart Journal, and Europace. He also reviews submitted papers for many prestigious cardiological journals. His significant contributions to the cardiology field include his role as principal investigator in numerous multicenter clinical trials and his active involvement in introducing innovative therapies and technological advances in cardiology and electrophysiology in Greece.

Dr Andrikopoulos was trained in the genetics of cardiovascular diseases as a research fellow with the European Society of Cardiology at the Department of Biological Science of the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom. He also holds a PhD in Genetics from the University of Athens Medical School.

Ștefan-Nicolae Bogdan is an Associate Professor and Cardiologist at the Department of Cardiology, Elias Emergency University Hospital in Bucharest, Romania. He specializes in advanced cardiac electrophysiology and cardiac device implantation. Dr Bogdan's clinical and academic roles focus on the management of complex cardiac arrhythmias, the execution of advanced interventional procedures, and the mentorship of medical professionals across various stages of training. He is one of the co-founders of the B52 Cardio-Thorax Center.

Dr Bogdan is the current President of the Working Group on Cardiac Arrhythmias of the Romanian Society of Cardiology. His leadership extends to significant roles within the European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA), where he held the position of Secretary for the Cardiac Arrhythmias Working Group (2020–2023), served as a member of the EHRA Young EP Board (2017–2020), and as the National Ambassador for EHRA (2015–2020). Dr Bogdan has contributed extensively as part of the scientific committee for international cardiology congresses, playing a key role in organizing educational initiatives and workshops, such as the Practical Arrhythmology & Cardiac Electrophysiology series and the Best of EHRA conferences.

Dr Bogdan earned his medical degree from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Carol Davila in Bucharest. He completed advanced training in internal medicine and cardiology, and obtained specialized certifications in invasive electrophysiology and cardiac device therapy. Dr Bogdan also completed his PhD in Medical Sciences. He further honed his expertise through fellowships in electrophysiology at prestigious institutions such as the Davidai Arrhythmia Center, Sheba Medical Center in Israel and San Gaudenzio Clinic in Novara, Italy.

Dariusz Dudek is a Professor of Cardiology and Director of Digital Medicine & Robotics Center at the Jagiellonian University Medical College in Krakow, Poland. He is also a Physician-in-Chief at the University Heart Center in Kielce.

Prof Dudek has held leadership roles in numerous national and international interventional cardiology organizations. He served as the President of the Association on Cardiovascular Intervention of the Polish Cardiac Society (2011–2013). He is Director of the annual New Frontiers in Interventional Cardiology (NFIC) meeting of the Polish Cardiac Society since 2011. Furthermore, he held the position of President of the European Association of Percutaneous Cardiovascular Interventions (EAPCI 2020–2022), acted as the liaison officer of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Digital Health Committee (2022–2024) and chaired the ESC Valve for Life Committee (2022–2024). He is currently a member of the ESC Digital Cardiology & Artificial Intelligence committee board.

Prof Dudek’s remarkable contributions to the field of cardiology have earned him several prestigious awards, including the Polish Prime Minister’s Awards, the Minister of Health Award for his achievements in cardiology and outstanding scientific activity, and recognition from the Polish Academy of Sciences.

His research focuses on acute myocardial infarction, complex percutaneous coronary intervention, robotics, transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) & structural interventions, CT-guided interventions, and 3D image modeling. As a pioneer in the field, Prof Dudek performed the first TAVI procedure in Poland in 2008. He is highly experienced in percutaneous valve interventions and has authored over 500 scientific publications, attaining a cumulative impact factor exceeding 2500 and accumulating a total of 36,000 citations.

Prof Dudek obtained his medical degree from the Jagiellonian University and completed his postgraduate training at medical institutions across Europe and the United States.